Morceaux Sur le Plancher
by angels fly with starry wings
Summary: Ten drabbles for the 'A Little is a Lot' Challenge by Another Artist. Most recent: The Fight.
1. Bleeding Through the Cracks

_Bleeding Through the Cracks_

_**by**_

_FallenMidnightAngel_

You sit on the couch, wondering how it all went _oh_so**horribly** wrong. One day it seemed like the horizon was just brightening with the promise of forever, and the next, it looked impossible to see what you might have just imagined. You can feel yourself seeping away, spilling over and falling through the cracks that he made in your shell. You were so very _afraid_lonely_**broken**_, and he fixed you, or so you thought. For a moment you think how amazing it is how the one person who fixed you can break you just as easily, and you laugh at the bitter truth – he has ruined you. The one person who completed you has ruined you, but yet you love him so much that you _cannot_willnot**nevercan** blame him.

As you fall into silent reveries of days past, you can see those _haunting_mysterious**eerie** eyes, as fresh as the day you first saw them, breaking through your outer shell and, seemingly, into your dusty soul, something which you thought you had cast out long ago. You cannot help but smile as you remember his beautiful amber eyes – who could scowl at them? Perhaps a Lucian, but you are not a Lucian, nor are you an _Ekaterina_Janus**Madrigal**. You are the strongest of them all, a _Tomas_, but you shatter to tiny pieces of _rapture_delight**hope** when you see him. Or, rather, _saw_ him, for you know now that he has truly vanished out of your life forever.

He could make you feel unique, like you weren't just made out of muscles and cruel words. He made you feel something that no one else could – _beautiful_elegant**worthsomething**. And then you learned that it was all a lie. The thought flashes through your mind that he is very much like a snake, which is very fitting, seeing his _family_name**branch**. You used to almost worship him like a god, but now you find it difficult to imagine his face without adding the tongue of a cobra. He fed you lies, and you readily ate them, wanting to rebel from your family's strict rules. You fell in love with him, and he hid his smirk as you did.

You want to hate him. You wish you could, yet you know that you _never_never**never** can. For how can you hate a person who is a part of you? You can try, but you will _always_ fail in the end, because hating a part of you is hating yourself, and he made you feel so beautiful that you can never _hate_loathe**dislike** yourself again.

You remember your final days with him. **Sharpies and sticky-notes made up your last memories**. You would stay up late and get up early, yet you _wouldn't_can't**won't** see those molten amber eyes again except in your dreams made of _longing_loving**leaving**. You would write notes with colorful Sharpies on colorful sticky-notes, hoping that you would make him smile (they always contained messages that said, in complicated ways, 'I love you!'), and he would respond with black Sharpie on yellow sticky-notes, as plain as could be. You eventually thought that maybe, just maybe, he had grown bored of you, was betraying you, but you loved him so much that you were blind to his deceit and smiled through what you thought were silly _ideas_beliefs**notions**.

Only when he was gone and you found the evidence of his betrayal did you realize that they weren't just _ideas_beliefs**notions**. Only when he was gone did you realize that they were the truth.

But by then it was too late. By then, it was _far_too**late** to empty out the lies he had told you. And so you sit on the couch and bleed through the cracks, wondering what you ever did to make him not love you.

_I went through this a million times, but I bet that there are __**so**__ many tense (and everything else) mistakes that it's not even funny. However, mistakes and all, I do rather like this piece of writing. I wrote it in a day (after a very hasty entry to Another Artist's contest), then stayed up until two in the morning changing things. I hope that you enjoy it! ^^ In case you didn't get it, it's Ian and one of the Holt sisters (I imagined Madison – she needs more spotlight on here!). _

_Final word count: 621 words._

_Date posted: 5/25/11._

_~Ari_


	2. Memories Are Falling From Your Eyes

_Memories Are Falling From Your Eyes_

**_by_**

_FallenMidnightAngel_

* * *

><p>He let her go, of course.<p>

Why? Because he loved her.

After all, if you hold on to someone who doesn't love you, the taste in your mouth when you kiss them that was once so sweet becomes incredibly bitter, and every memory that was happy fades to sadness, all because you couldn't let go.

He watches her walk away with him, and he notices that her step has more of a bounce now that she is free. The slight profile of her face that he can see seems happier than he has ever seen it. Her shoulders are straight and strong, and he knows, just from her posture, that she has already moved on.

"Why did you let her go?"

He turns his face to his sister, his sister with the wise green eyes, who, for once, does not know something. "I let her go because she doesn't love me. It was hurting us both to hold on."

It seems that the roles have been reversed. The wise older sister has almost been reverted to a child, questioning his every decision. The immature younger brother has grown up, almost before her eyes, making difficult choices that she knew she never could. "But, she needed you!"

He let out a dry chuckle, forcing humor into a humorless situation. "No, she didn't. I needed her, a little bit too much. Everyone pushed us together, and I suppose that she never really loved me. Everyone kept saying that we were the perfect couple, and so, ironically, we molded ourselves to _make_ the perfect couple."

"So, basically, we pushed you into loving her?" She tilted her head, narrowing her eyes in confusion.

"No. I always loved her, in a way. There was no pushing for me. But, we pushed _her_ into pretending that she loved me. She didn't want to disappoint her family, or hurt me," His voice cracked, splitting into fine lines like a pane of glass that is shattering. "She's too amazing for that."

"But you loved her! She was messed up, and you fixed her! You found her!" She said, throwing her hands up into the air, trying to decipher why her brother was letting go of the one person he would lasso the moon for.

**"How can you find someone who was never lost to begin with?" he demanded.** "How do you fix someone who was never broken?"

She turned her face away, letting her hair form a copper shield around her. Dan turned away, looking towards the street where she had disappeared from him. He felt an arm go around his waist and pull him close, and he collapsed into his sister's embrace, crying tears bitter with memories.

"Are you alright?"

He looked up suddenly, and was met by a silhouette of a woman with her hand on his shoulder. She smiled at him slightly, as if wondering if she should or not. He smiled back at her, wiping the tears away from his eyes.

"I will be."

* * *

><p><em>I actually don't like this drabble too much. It's probably just me being all nit-picky, but it seems a little too forced. Oh, well. Review? Amy, I hope you like the new name! It's French, obviously. The language of love. I hope I got all the typos, although I really doubt it! Did anyone catch the "It's A Wonderful Life" reference? Tell me if you did!<em>

_Final word count: 536._

_Posting date: 6/6/11_

_Thanks for reading! ^^_


	3. I Know You

_I Know You_

_**by**_

_FallenMidnightAngel_

.*.

He was always there to carry my books. He would just appear amongst hundreds of scurrying college students, arms empty, and a grin on his face. I never asked. He was just… _there_. The second time he _attempted_ to carry them, I yanked them back, a look of defiance on my face.

"I _can_ carry my own books, you know. I'm not helpless." I said, putting ice into my voice until I could hear it freeze. Now, this would normally faze people, and they would step back, and then, when I turned my back, usually make a face behind my back. But he just grinned and held his arms out again.

"I know you're not. I just thought I might help – isn't that what you girls like? Guys helping?" And then he grabbed my book-bag, which, by the way, is something that girls do _not_ like. I tried to pull it back, but he pulled harder. So hard, in fact, that he fell on the ground, my heavy textbooks going with him.

"Are you alright?" I asked grudgingly, pulling _Grey's Anatomy _off of him. He propped himself up on his elbows and groaned, rubbing his head.

"Fine," He said, annoyance _very_ evident in his voice. "I just had a ton of books fall on me, is all. Nothing big." I put my hands on my hips and, without even thinking about it, my face set into a scowl.

"Well, you know, that's your _own_ fault. You wanted to carry them, so maybe you just received them in an unwanted way. Now, since you wanted to carry them so badly, you can pick them up." He smiled, his mood changing faster than I could comprehend, and his eyes set upon the book in my hand.

"_Grey's Anatomy_? Interesting!" He said, reaching for it. I quickly pushed it into my book-bag and turned around. "Well, then. Be that way." Sticking his tongue out at me, he proceeded to pick up the rest of my books.

I started walking, hearing his footsteps catch up to me. I felt the corner of my mouth twitch upwards, something that rarely happened.

'_Well. Maybe this isn't so bad.'_

.*.

Around my third year of college, I gave him a key to my apartment, and he gave me a key to his. I would come home late, only to hear him noisily pouring cereal in the kitchenette.

"Rogan? Oh my God, what are you doing here?" I said, rubbing my eyes with my wrist, placing my other hand on the countertop. "It's almost two in the morning!"

**He ignored my question and asked, "What kind of cereal do you prefer: Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Lucky Charms?"** I sighed and sat down heavily on a chair, smiling slightly like I always did around him.

"Cinnamon Toast Crunch," He set down the box, gaping at me in horror. "What?" I said, suddenly self-conscious. I rubbed my nose and forehead, wondering if there was some ghastly substance there.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" I blinked twice, offended. "Only freaks like Cinnamon Toast Crunch! Lucky Charms are the way to go!" He said. This instigated a face palm.

"Just pour the cereal."

"Gotcha."

.*.

Two years later, we were making our way in the world, free. I remember that one night I came home after a particularly hard break-up, and, like always, there he was in my kitchen, pouring cereal.

"Get out!" I screamed. "Get out! Why are you always here? I don't want you here! _Get out!_" He put the cereal down and stared at me.

"What happened to you, Nat?"

"Why should you care? All you guys are the same – idiotic! You don't care about anything!"

His eyes narrowed, and he walked right in front of me.

"We don't _care_? We're _stupid_? How come you can't notice what's right in front of you? I know everything about you, Nat. I know that your favorite color is green, I know that you _love_ all things medical. I know that you prefer Cinnamon Toast Crunch over Lucky Charms, no matter how messed up that is.

"I know your birthday – January 17th. I know that you love all things flashy, and if you don't catch everyone's eye, then something is _definitely_ wrong with them. I know that I love you, and you don't notice."

I stood there in shock, not moving, not blinking, I don't even believe that I was breathing.

And then, all of a sudden –

I noticed.

.*.

_**747 words. Geez, do you know how hard it was to file it down to 748 words? I had to cut out some details! :'( **_

_**Anyway, I actually quite like this little drabble thingy. I wanted to do something happy! :D I just feel like it's a bit rushed, but with the limit, that happens. Oh well! xD Also – I don't know Natalie Kabra's real birthday. I Googled it a ton, and found some interesting Facebook pages, but no official birthday. I thought that January was good for her, however, seeing as she is very icy.**_

_**Anyway, if you haven't figured it out, this is Natalie and a random dude named Rogan. I see this as an AU – the Clue Hunt never happened. Rogan is an awesome name, isn't it? Wrote this jamming out to my new favorite song! ^^**_

_**Anyway. Official post date: 6/20/11. (Sorry that it's a week late – my Internet was all wonky last Monday. Boo, Internet.)**_

_**~Ari**_


	4. Circles Turned Into Lines

_Circles Turned Into Lines_

_**by**_

_FallenMidnightAngel_

.*.

You sit on your bench. The metal freezes your legs and the sun melts the ice, and all in all, it's a very comfortable day. The roar of the screaming crowd pierces your eardrums, and you feel the need to tell them to shut up before you go deaf. But, of course, you're too shy for that, so you sit and let your hair form a shield around you as you watch the little figures on the track.

**You wonder if they realize that all they do is run in circles all day**. And you don't mean just the runners. You wonder if everyone who is sitting here realizes that they are just running circles. They will never get anywhere. They will never stop.

Wake up. Get dressed. Eat breakfast. Go to work. Come home. Eat dinner. Shower. Go to bed.

Circles.

You're all like lab rats in a maze, searching hopelessly for a tiny bit of cheese. You bump into walls and dead ends _overandoverandover_, but it doesn't matter how bruised your body gets, because _you want the cheese_. You'll turn, you'll scream, you'll run, but it doesn't matter what you do, because, eventually you will lose yourself searching for something that might have never even existed.

One of the runners falls. It's a younger boy – this is only a school track run, after all. He trips and scrapes his knee – even though you are far up in the stands, you can still see the blood run down his leg as he attempts to stand up and run. He makes it a few strides before he falls to the ground again, grasping his ankle now. You can't see the tears make their way down his disappointed face, but you know that they're there. The nurse makes her way onto the track to take him to the sidelines.

But, before she can reach him, two runners turn around and jog to his side. They help him stand up, and then they put their arms around him and take a step. The three boys make their way to the finish line, slow and steady, the two older ones holding up the younger boy. The little boy hugs both of the players tightly after they finish, and you are amazed by this show of compassion. The entire stadium stands up and cheers for the three runners, but you just sit with your shield of hair, stunned.

"Hey, Amy? Are you alright?" Your brother asks, putting a hand on your shoulder.

You smile up at him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm great."

Maybe it's time you stopped running those circles.

.*.

_**I think that this might be one of my favorites. I don't know… I'm just all cheesy like that. Anyway, this one is pretty obvious, huh? I read a story about this happening with runners once. The only thing that I really don't like is that the ending seems a bit weird. Your opinion is valued, thanks. :)**_

_**Words: 417.**_

_**Date posted: 6/20/11 (back on track, baby! ^^)**_

_**Thanks for reading! Much love to you!**_

_**~Ari**_


	5. The Fight

_The Fight_

_**by**_

_FallenMidnightAngel_

.*.

Sweat formed a fine sheen on his body, dripping into his eyes and plastering his slightly-shaggy hair onto his forehead.

"Come on, Dan! Your turn to start!" the girl in front of him was bouncing from foot to foot, left to right, right to left. Her feet taunted his own, which, at the moment, felt like Isabel had attacked them, to put it lightly.

Moaning under his breath, Dan lifted his glove-covered hands into a fighting stance. He placed his feet into a position that was more for support than offense, and then took a deep breath, closing his eyes, mentally readying himself.

"Hurry up, or I'll throw the first punch!" came an impatient voice. Suddenly, without even opening his eyes, he thrust his fist forwards, feeling her forearm block it almost instantaneously. His eyes snapped open, and emerald green met tantalizing blue for a few meager seconds. The girl's lips twitched upwards, her eyes narrowing, and she quickly kicked her heel into the air, straight towards Dan's nose. He covered her heel with his hand and threw her to the tile floor. She quickly placed her hands behind her to support her fall and then took her foot and swept it under Dan's legs, using the momentum to push her to her feet again.

Dan had jumped, avoiding crashing to the floor, and threw a kick at her chest, followed by two quick punches before quickly falling back into a defensive position. The girl countered with a kick to his knee, her blonde ponytail caressing his face for a few brief moments whilst she spun around, delivering a sound roundhouse kick to his stomach, resulting in Dan doubling over, a guttural sound emitting from his throat.

The girl smiled and blew some stray strands of blonde hair out of her face, placing her gloved hands on her hips. "You give up yet? I could go for a hamburger soon." Dan set his jaw and quickly kicked a leg under her feet, knocking her to the floor. She let out a small yelp before narrowing her blue eyes to tiny slits, glaring at him ferociously.

"You shouldn't have done that."

She quickly jumped up and then spun around, delivering a kick right at his head. Dan moved his head to the side in time, but she used the force from her spin to punch at his face, her fist colliding with his eye. Dan pulled back, holding his eye with his glove, but he didn't even have time to recover before the blonde kicked at his knee, sending him straight to the ground. He lay there staring up at the girl, still clutching his eye, which he was sure was going to be black in the morning.

"Do you give up _now_?" she asked, her eyes still narrowed menacingly. Dan sighed in defeat, pushing himself up on his elbow.

"Yes. I give up. Can we get some ice for my eye?" Reagan smiled, helping him up.

"Of course we can, Dan." She kissed his cheek in delight. He smiled.

"**I may be a loser, but I feel like a winner.**" Her eyes lit up suddenly and she turned her head towards him.

"In that case, want a rematch?"

.*.

_Does everyone here love my very original title for this chapter? ^.^ Anyway! I really like this drabble. I did something light-hearted for once! Can everyone tell that I'm terrible at writing fight scenes?_

_I know that the pairing isn't that original, but I just can't pair Madison with Dan for some reason. I don't know, actually, it's almost like it's against my morals. But, anyway, please review, and a big thanks to Joyce for the CC from last chapter – I hope I followed it correctly! :) I also hope that I don't have any typos - recently I put on these cool faux nails - they have cobras on them. However, it makes it really hard to type. *sigh*_

_Words: 525_

_Date posted: 6/27/11_

_~Ari_


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